Carroll Back On Song - And Still Tipped For Toon Return

03 February 2013 02:39

Andy Carroll fired West Ham to their first victory since New Year's Day and then targeted three more morale-boosting points against Aston Villa.

Carroll made a successful return from a nine-week injury lay-off on Saturday, heading the Hammers to a much-needed 1-0 win over Swansea at Upton Park.

But reports yesterday claim the Geordie will return to Tyneside in the summer. Something he refused to talk about.

West Ham had only won two matches since Carroll last started a game in November - a sequence that had seen the east Londoners slip dangerously close to the Barclays Premier League relegation zone.

With games against Tottenham, Chelsea, Manchester United and Stoke coming up, Carroll knows how important Saturday's win was, and he now hopes the team can follow up their victory with another maximum at Villa next Sunday.

Andy Carroll: "I'm a West Ham player for the next four months, then I'm back to Liverpool.

"The points had dried up a bit so the lads are delighted with the win today.

"You could see when I scored everyone was celebrating. And everyone was sliding in with last-ditch tackles at the end. We needed the three points.

"It was good for us to get the win. It will be good for all the lads to get a rest in a rest now and hopefully we can get three points at the end of it.

"I've had eight weeks off and I've been working hard in the gym so my fitness is still high.

"All the physios and backroom staff have been helping a lot to keep me fit in the gym when I couldn't run. Obviously it showed with getting 90 minutes.

"It felt good. We got three points and I got the goal, so it was great."